Currently, when a dental patient has dental work performed, various tools are used for scaling calculus from the teeth of the patient and for cooling or rinsing the patient's mouth. These tools include vibratory instruments for spraying, polishing, or cleaning the teeth and surrounding internal mouth area, i.e., gums. As a result of the use of these various tools, moisture and contaminants from the mouth or tools are often sprayed onto the patient's face, neck, and upper torso causing discomfort and unsanitary conditions.
Dental shields have been developed to cover the patient's face and neck to attempt to prevent this discomfort and these unsanitary conditions. Examples of these dental shield may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,473 by Bothwell entitled "Dental Patient Face And Neck Shield"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,758 by Wielhouwer et al. entitled "Dental Face Shield." These conventional dental shields, however, fail to adequately cover the head and upper torso of the patient, are bulky and awkward for easy use, or constrain the patient so as to cause psychological discomfort.
Thus, there is a need for a dental shield or dental covering which is easy to use, adequately covers the head and upper torso of the patient, and provides psychological comfort to the patient during use.